Bookertoo

Hello I'm a Lily Beetle, come and get me!

Aha Zoomer, they caught you out too huh?  No, although they do go into the compost for the winter, where they hatch out into the following years red horrors, the eggs are laid on the leaves of the lily.  Each egg becomes a first stage larva, and then coveres itself with its own excreta, sticking it to the leaf.  If you look under the leaves, you will see black sticky spots, slightly irregular in shape, each is a lily beetle larva.  They need removing to reduce the numbers that will grow over the winter and hatch into full beetles next spring.  Use an old cloth or something to wipe it off with, it is all quite disgusting.  Some of my leaves were so full of  it that I just took off the whole leaf.  So far, that has not been necessary this year.  The beetles themselves come out less when it is cool, and in numbers when it gets warmer.  If you have found 4, there are many more somewhere.  Sometimes you see them on other plants on their way (I assume) from one plant to the next.  They eat fritillaries as well, but not day lilies which are not a member of the true lily family.  Some people have had such infestations that they have moved over to day lilies from asiatic or other lilies.  You do need to keep yur eyes open, they're there, the little perishers!

sowing seed .

It is  surprising what can do well even when sown now - and anyway we are all weeks behind, and we will (Hopefully) have a glorious late summer as well as the one we are currently enjoying, so they will have plenty of time in which to grow.  Hope that doesn't come back to haunt me as a  ' whoops ' remark. 

Another Mystery Plant thread

That could be aloe 'pheasants breast' - I inherited one when my son went to live in America and passed all his succulents and cacti on to me - being a softie and his mum I agreed to keep them - and I don't really like those type of plants!  Anyway, there is one like that, one of the few I do like, and that is its name. 

HELP Please! Anyone know what this is?

Such a pity rhus is such a pain, as it is so lovely in autumn - our neighbour across the road has one, and I am very happy to admire it from afar!

A Cautionary Tale .....

Yet I struggle to grow that in any shape or form!!

 I bought a very nice shrub some years ago, cannot recall its name, it has very divided pinnate leaves and trusses of fine white flowers - and it is a thug par excellance!! I am forever pulling unwanted bits out of the garden,  it has runners that must be yards and yards long.no warning on the label of course, which is long since lost so I can't even tell people what to be warned about. 

Growing by the Moon Calender

I've never done it myself, but a colleague of mine, a physiotherapist, swore by it, and it is for sure that she grew wonderful vegetables.  Whether this was becaause of the moon calendar or whether, because she put that extra work and care into them, they grew well anyway I cannot say.  It is known here, but as I said, I have not done it myself.  Would be interested to know what others think about it?

Talkback: Edible weeds

A few young dandelion leaves make a nice addition to a green salad, but they will make you wee more than usual. 

Talkback: Edible weeds

Please, please give us the recipe if you would?  I have had nettle soup and it was lovely, the idea of nettle jelly sounds wonderful.

The dreaded ground elder was introduced as a pain killer and comfort for those suffering from gout, the Romans brought it here.  It is still quite effective as a tea - it was called Bishops Wort because only the bishops were thought to be rich enough to get gout from heavy eating!  Take a good large handful of the very youngest leaves, steep them in a mug of boiling water, drain well, sweeten with a little honey if you want, and drink.  It is harmless, and does have a slight sedative effect taken just before bed.  It doesn't taste delicious but is not revolting either, slightly cabbagy. 

shrubs

Weeds will always grow through to some degree, but indeed the harder we make it for them the better.  Have you considered herbaceous plants as well as shrubs?  These die down in the winter but return happily each spring, it would give a less solid look than shrubs only?  There are very many hundreds from which to choose.  I guess you have acid soul if your azaleas etc are doing  so well.  Why not add a blueberry or two, then you get fruit as well - or the birds will.  I suggest you look in the library for a good RHS book about borders - that will give yousome ideas.,Have a look around your area and see what other gardeners are growing and talk with thm - most garfeners are very happy to share their knowlede - and often their plants, though that is something about which you might want to be careful - we have all been offered rose of sharon or something equally invasive in our early days and then spent the next ten years trying to get rid of it!! 

Female blackbird loses her mate - very sad

A cuckoo?  Another bird that does this is the magpie, and possibly others of the crow family - such a pity after all the work the parent birds put into it all.  Still, that is nature, red in tooth and claw - not that birds have teeth, but ............

Solomon's seal

For whom do we garden .............

frosted lilies

out of season plants

bird feeders

Hazel nut queries

Flippin' pigeons